A lot goes on behind the scenes in the world of tennis, and the World No. 3 Coco Gauff has seen and faced many things herself. After her first-round win in the Australian Open, the American opened up about an awkward locker room experience that also shows the emotional ups and downs players often deal with.
Coco Gauff Reveals an Awkward Locker Room Moment
Gauff kicked off her Australian Open campaign with a calm 6-2, 6-3 win over Kamilla Rakhimova on Rod Laver Arena. Although her serve was still an issue, Gauff stayed composed from the baseline.
Off the court, Gauff shared some honest insights on locker room stories. During the post-match press conference, when she was asked about awkward locker room moments, the 21-year-old shared a funny but uncomfortable story.
“I had an awkward one after a match. I won’t say who, but I thought a person won, and they didn’t,” Gauff said. “And I was like, ‘Oh.’ And then they were like, ‘No.’ And I was like, ‘Oh.’ But they took it well.”
“So yeah, there’s moments like that where you don’t know whether to speak to the person or not if you haven’t seen the score on how their match goes. So, I’m usually pretty good at like doing that. But that was a mess up. But luckily the girl was… I know her. She’s super sweet,” she continued.
She explained that moments like that can happen when players are not aware of each other’s results. She also pointed out how tricky it can be to share locker rooms with rivals, where emotions can vary widely depending on how matches have gone.
“And as far as like opponents, I mean, it is always sometimes awkward. Like you say, ‘hello,’ and stuff but with the people I know really well, it’s not really that awkward. We’ll talk and be like, ‘Hey, see you out there,’ and that’s fine. But people you don’t know, you don’t know whether to say ‘hi’ to them or not. I’m someone who usually always says ‘hi’ but the responses vary.”
“I congratulated those. I just said, ‘Oh, it must have went well.’ Because they were eating candy, and they were like, ‘No, this is like depression candy,'” the American concluded.
Gauff’s Awkward and Emotional Locker Room Moments
Over the years, Gauff has been open about how uncomfortable tennis locker rooms can be sometimes. At the 2025 French Open, Gauff walked onto the court only to realize she had left all her rackets back in the locker room. She later laughed about it and jokingly blamed her coach’s superstitions.
However, some other experiences have been much harder for her emotionally. After losing in the first round at Wimbledon in 2025, Gauff said she really struggled in the locker room. “After the match, I definitely was struggling in the locker room. I don’t like losing. I know my team is gonna tell me, ‘You did well at Roland Garros. Don’t be so upset.’ But I don’t really like losing. I feel a bit disappointed with how I showed up,” she said.
There have also been practical challenges. During the 2025 Madrid Open, Gauff had to shower in the dark due to a power outage. One of the toughest parts, she has said, is having to share the same space with an opponent right after playing them.
